using comquest, how to study for Qs?!

[jakstat]

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Hi I'm currently doing comquest. Although its helpful, I'm a little freaked out in that I dont know what some questions are asking! (I've gone through all of first aid.) I know its comlex style questions and I would like get used to these type of questions. I notice the questions focus on details that I would not remember during my normal study routine?! Soo its like I can study all day and still not recognized the "hints" givin in the question.

Is this mainly what comquest will help with? Any recs? 2nd time around for me. 😳 THanks!!!

 

[abbottje]

I know exactly what you mean. They style of questions on the COMLEX are soo very much different than the heavily detailed well-written questions that we accustom ourselves to in school and even use to prepare for this test... soo frustrating!! I used usmle world for step one and thought it was great preparation till i got to test day and the COMLEX requires a different thought process when addressing their questions. I have heard good things about comquest but still have yet to purchase. As of now just using books crush and B&W. Sorry to hear first time through resulted in failing score for you... kinda scared of landing in the same boat. How did you prepare the first time through? what did you use? and how are you changing test prep study for the second time through after having now seen the test one time???

 

[Jonathan13180]

Hi I'm currently doing comquest. Although its helpful, I'm a little freaked out in that I dont know what some questions are asking! (I've gone through all of first aid.) I know its comlex style questions and I would like get used to these type of questions. I notice the questions focus on details that I would not remember during my normal study routine?! Soo its like I can study all day and still not recognized the "hints" givin in the question.

Is this mainly what comquest will help with? Any recs? 2nd time around for me. 😳 THanks!!!

I too am in a similar situation as you-I would do comquest and combank and use those as your primary source. Read the questions not so much so that you can answer the questions, but more importantly, so that you get used to the style of questions. When going through the answers, even if you KNOw the correct answer, go thru the rest of the answer choices and try to rule those out. I have used resources like crush, secrets, and now FA and honestly, there isnt once source out there that can prepare you for the vagueness of this test. If you have ample time (ie months) then I think U-world will benefit you b/c it teaches fundemental knowledge-Comlex, on the other hand, does not.
PM me if you have other questions.

 

[jakstat]

I used Uworld, got through 80% of questions. Got familiar with their question style and was able to eliminate answers based on question stem...getting at least 60% correct on qbank. also went through first aid x3, kaplan lectures on cardio, ob, psych, and peds. used combank for omt questions. going in i was pretty confident.

 

[Jonathan13180]

I used Uworld, got through 80% of questions. Got familiar with their question style and was able to eliminate answers based on question stem...getting at least 60% correct on qbank. also went through first aid x3, kaplan lectures on cardio, ob, psych, and peds. used combank for omt questions. going in i was pretty confident.

It seems like it is NOT an issue with your knowledge of the material, and rather an issue, like most of us, with the question format of the comlex.

 

[jakstat]

^^^yeah, prob is trying to explain that to residency directors.

Anyone else notice the errors in comquest? I appreciate comquest for taking a active role in correcting their mistakes. At the same time, I've noticed 3 mistakes in the week or so i've been doing questions. Surely I can't be the only one noticeing this.

ex.
29yo. --> most common cause of acute appendicitis is NOT lymphoid hyperplasia as stated in the answer choice.

Pt is vomiting--> best way to administer meds is NOT PO as stated in answer choice

Pt has absent DTR and flaccid paralysis--> 2 correct answers to pick from. Guillian barre, and polyiomyositis

Now I'm not the smartest person out there and I find it disconcerting that I'm paying to use a qbank with that has that many mistakes. What if the "most common causes" questions are not based on a reliable source? What if there are errors that I don't recognize and I "learn them" for test day!?

 

[YelpMe]

^^^yeah, prob is trying to explain that to residency directors.

Anyone else notice the errors in comquest? I appreciate comquest for taking a active role in correcting their mistakes. At the same time, I've noticed 3 mistakes in the week or so i've been doing questions. Surely I can't be the only one noticeing this.

ex.
29yo. --> most common cause of acute appendicitis is NOT lymphoid hyperplasia as stated in the answer choice.

Pt is vomiting--> best way to administer meds is NOT PO as stated in answer choice

Pt has absent DTR and flaccid paralysis--> 2 correct answers to pick from. Guillian barre, and polyiomyositis

Now I'm not the smartest person out there and I find it disconcerting that I'm paying to use a qbank with that has that many mistakes. What if the "most common causes" questions are not based on a reliable source? What if there are errors that I don't recognize and I "learn them" for test day!?

I am using comquest and going through it the second time around. I really like their questions and explanations. I saw those questions too but this is exactly what I love about this question bank. For example, the questions you mentioned - I realized they are asking the most likely cause of the condition is... and you have to choose from the best options given (sometimes not the best answer) but their explanations always go into details and explain it and give the best answer there or tell you how to approach this type of question. I commented on the question about the vomiting patient and realized the patient was vomiting because it was a reaction to some other drug and the question was asking what you should switch them to (2nd line agent), right?. I agreed with their response. And for the questions with more than 2 correct answer options, that is what my classmates have complained about with the actual COMLEX. I chose poliomyelitis on that question because it wasn't ascending paralysis. I'm pretty sure that was the right answer. I am feeling much better with these style of questions the second time around and taking the real thing in a month.
It's quite unfair that the NBOME doesn't state one reference source to use. To answer your other questions, I agree with the other poster that your knowledge is there given you went through FA 3 times and 80% of UW but it takes getting used to these questions and not just knowledge.

 

[Jonathan13180]

I am using comquest and going through it the second time around. I really like their questions and explanations. I saw those questions too but this is exactly what I love about this question bank. For example, the questions you mentioned - I realized they are asking the most likely cause of the condition is... and you have to choose from the best options given (sometimes not the best answer) but their explanations always go into details and explain it and give the best answer there or tell you how to approach this type of question. I commented on the question about the vomiting patient and realized the patient was vomiting because it was a reaction to some other drug and the question was asking what you should switch them to (2nd line agent), right?. I agreed with their response. And for the questions with more than 2 correct answer options, that is what my classmates have complained about with the actual COMLEX. I chose poliomyelitis on that question because it wasn't ascending paralysis. I'm pretty sure that was the right answer. I am feeling much better with these style of questions the second time around and taking the real thing in a month.
It's quite unfair that the NBOME doesn't state one reference source to use. To answer your other questions, I agree with the other poster that your knowledge is there given you went through FA 3 times and 80% of UW but it takes getting used to these questions and not just knowledge.

I couldnt agree more with this post. "...you have to choose from the best options given (sometimes not the best answer)" is exactly what you must focus on during the actual test. I feel it is very easy to get caught reading buzzwords/keywords and then dismissing the rest of the question, and of course, the answer that corresponds to the keyword will be there. The problem is that often, at least as I have found, although keywords are in the question stem, the actual question will require a different answer choice. Its all about trying to decipher what the question is ACTUALLY asking, and not trying to pick the most suitable answer. Its aweful, but thats what the NBOME feels is adequate.
As an aside-one of my clinical advisors told me that the avg pass rate has dropped from 94 to 84% in the past year alone. Not an excuse by any means, but perhaps some comfort in knowing that overall people are not fairing well.

 

[jakstat]

Thanks for the responses so far, they have been very helpful. I think the single most frustrating issue is getting used to the question style. I just did a question implying the pt had bordetella pertussis. No mention of classic character of cough. q throws in pt had viral dx which completely throws me off!! So I have no idea what dx is and have to come up with the most approp tx! God help me... not that I'm religious. Helpfully doing more questions will help. sorry for the vent.

 

[ping1050]

I felt like this was by far the best qbank out there for comlex. I am using COMQUEST and COMBANK and have found COMBANK to be very inferior in terms of quality of question, similarity to the real comlex, and explanations. In fact many of their questions are flat out wrong. Way more often than with COMQUEST.

 

[DD214_DOC]

I felt like this was by far the best qbank out there for comlex. I am using COMQUEST and COMBANK and have found COMBANK to be very inferior in terms of quality of question, similarity to the real comlex, and explanations. In fact many of their questions are flat out wrong. Way more often than with COMQUEST.

I feel that COMQUEST is too easy, much more so than COMBANK. Hopefully that's a good sign.

 

[zman1910]

I'm sorry to say this but I just took Comlex 2 and felt very confident going in.

USMLEWorld - 67% going through all of it
Combank - 85%
Comquest - 86%

The actual test really sucked and I mean bad. It was ridiculously vague. There is nothing that will prepare you properly for this exam....so take comfort in the fact that no one is going to do excessively well. In truth I feel like I failed it and I may have despite feeling like I know everything.

You said your not religious and I'm not terribly either.....but I'm reconsidering now bc that's all that will help me through this.

I sound ridiculous but that's bc the exam is borderline ridiculous. My breakdown for my exam was what felt like 70% ethics and ridiculous medical laws your supposed to know at this stage and 30% actual medical knowledge. I'm not exaggerating either.

My advice - do your best at gaining as much knowledge as you can so that you can at least get those correct and hope that everyone else screws up the same ridiculous questions that Comlex throws out there. It's such a random bank and I mean random.

This post is not meant to scare just to tell you that there is nothing that can prepare you just bring your current knowledge and damn good reasoning skills.....bc I feel that is more important after gaining the knowledge, which you obviously have.

 

[badgerred]

I had the same reaction you did when I first started the COMQUEST. I thought it was really vague and I questioned my medical knowledge because I did decent on UW. The key for me was doing it a second time. On my second run through the concepts sunk in and the vague question sets started to make sense (I know it's weird).

And to anyone else reading this, remember the truth is always somewhere in between. You will read people saying the COMLEX is easy and they only studied two weeks before the exam and you will hear others say its difficult and that nothing can prepare you for it. The truth is in between. It's not easy and you need to study for it but it's not impossible and if you use the right resources and study for it like it's a different exam than the USMLE Step 2, you will do fine on it. My advice is to repeat COMQUEST and COMBANK and know your OMM. I didn't really get much out of COMQUEST until my second run through.

 

[HunterGatherer]

And to anyone else reading this, remember the truth is always somewhere in between. You will read people saying the COMLEX is easy and they only studied two weeks before the exam and you will hear others say its difficult and that nothing can prepare you for it. The truth is in between.

Just took it and I agree. I heard both. For most of us the material we cover in studying for this exam will be needed for Step 3, possibly residency, and possibly practice. I think the best approach is to study from a book like step up, FA, B&W, etc. to learn something new to help you on the wards. Then pick your poison in COMQUEST COMBANK (I only did 1/2 of UW). Now add some Savarese. Its the same formula everyone uses but try to make this a learning opportunity more than an exam.

Hopefully I passed because just like in Step 1 my brain was toast in the last block. I stared at my last 2 questions for about 3-6 minutes each and walking out the door realized I answered them wrong. At least I remembered where I parked my car.